Time's River Divides
by lorventus
Summary: The flow of time in Hyrule is notoriously unreliable, History diverges into different paths over and over again. One such path has Link seeking to use the Mask Salesman's magic to create a Gerudo mask. It works, but perhaps too well, in spite of this mishap Link still feels she must complete the quest, even with a hanger on.
1. Chapter 1

The light around me faded, slowly turning from purest white to a dull malevolent red, light filtering in from windows high above me. The light coming in from outside, that of an eternal twilight held in place by powerful magic, stole the beauty the room once had. I looked up at the window and furrowed my brow, the panes of ancient glass were shattered in their frames, something I hadn't seen before in previous arrivals. I lowered the blade and gave it a testing upward swing, my body drawn along with the arc of the weapon. It felt heavy, unnaturally so, not like it had in previous jaunts through time.

My contemplation of this was sharply interrupted by a voice, "What a rush!" I looked down, meeting eyes with a child, maybe six years old, dressed like the desert walkers. I gasped and recoiled slightly from her, and in that moment noticed myself. Like her I was in robes befitting that of the desert thieves, I quickly pulled at the arms of my robe, seeing my deeply tan skin and feminine arms. I let the clothes go allowing the soft cloth to cover me once more. My face went blank as I noticed the rest of me and lost my grip on the weapon I had pulled from the pedestal.

As the blade clattered I felt a tug at my skirt, "Mommy, what's wrong?" My heart jumped up and found a place in my throat, confirming the obvious, that this child was… mine.

"N-nothing, darling," I stammered out, my voice alien and familiar all at once. I looked down at her, forcing myself to smile, "Do you remember anything?" She hadn't been there when I pulled the blade, what would it mean for her now that I had. How had her time been spent? The first time I had gone through I couldn't remember anything, I had done things in there, my clothes had adjusted, I'd gained new skills, but while they came 'naturally' I couldn't remember the act of learning. Just like the skills, feelings came naturally as I watched the little one think, tapping the side of her head as she held a hand to her chin. She was beautiful to behold and allowed a feeling to well up deep within me, its source beyond me for a moment until it occurred to me in the bluntest way possible.

"I uhm remember… words?"

She sounded confused, scared. I knelt before her and put my hand on her shoulder, the glint of gold around my wrist almost drew my eyes from hers, "Shhh, that's good, words are good." It was a start, more would surface later, probably.

"But I don't remember anything!" She blurted out with urgency and no less fear than before.

I held my finger up against her lips, "Shh, it'll be fine, I don't remember anything either, we'll learn together, OK?" That seemed to calm her some, "Anyway, we need to go, it isn't safe here." I looked back up at the broken windows, it seemed that finally someone had thought to scale the wall and break in, it was too bad for them that I had already come and taken the blade.

I began to rise, but stopped in the middle, remembering the blade on the ground I retrieved it. As I finished my rise I looked it over, the edge remained unblemished from its fall, even the point which had landed first was sharp as ever, the very same enchantments that made it so that it could seal away great evils made it such that its edge would never dull or break. I would be lying if I said I didn't depend on that fact in combat.

I finished looking it over and made to put it away, reaching not for its traditional position over my shoulder but a sheath hanging off an already occupied sword belt. The naturalness with which I slid it into place was strange, it had felt natural over my shoulder before, but now it sat at my hip with the same feeling. I had to shake off the feeling of alien familiarity and pointed to the archway leading out of the great temple, "Go on ahead darling, mommy needs a moment to get her bearings." I watched as the girl nodded and hurried to the arch. Once there she promptly hid behind it only to stick her hooded head out from behind it denying me the privacy I had hoped for, I had a feeling that this was not unusual for her.

What I needed to do though didn't require a lot of privacy, I just needed to check, make sure that everything was in order. Pack and satchels, in place, they felt full, ready for a long journey as they did every time I emerged from the light. I looked over my hands, the palms were calloused, I had definitely been practicing with a blade in the time between, good. I slipped the cloth away from my arm again, noting the bangles around my wrist, but also taut muscles, not as heavy as they had been last time. I pulled the cloth all the way up to see my whole arm and nodded my approval, it seemed I hadn't slouched on training, good. Letting the cloth back down I left the rest of me for examination later, only one thing was left to check.

Gently I reached up and pressed my thumb behind my jaw. In doing so I felt the sudden dizzyness I knew to be the magic I'd learned from that damned salesman. Gritting my teeth I pulled my hand away before it separated the mask from me, I couldn't be sure what would happen if I removed it and I certainly didn't want to do it in front of my daughter. I caught her eyes with mine and she ducked back behind the arch, realizing she'd been caught staring. I smiled at this, it was cute, endearing, it only made me feel more strongly toward her. I couldn't name the feeling though, it was foreign to me in a way that even the body I bore wasn't.

I made final adjustments to myself and my gear before stepping away from the place where my artifact blade had rested for who knows how long. I looked back as I walked, how long had I been inside, why had I kept the mask on the whole time, this quest I was on, didn't it need me to be … me? I shook my head, I wouldn't find answers here, perhaps some answers would come with memories that resurfaced over time, the Goddesses only knew though if I would at all. My boots clicked smartly as I strode with a little sway in the hips across the room. If nothing else at least I had good boots.

The little one emerged from behind the archway, coming up alongside me as I walked, her cloak swirling behind her as she hurried to match my pace, "Where are we going?"

I looked out into the main hall of the temple, pews and tapestries rotted in the darkened space, the doors remained on their hinges at the far end. "We have to get out of the city," I said as kindly as I could, I didn't want to worry her, not yet.

We wormed our way toward the doors, "Why?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"Because it's not safe here," I continued with my kind voice, trying to keep her calm. I stopped as we arrived at the door, looked back and held out my hand to her. She grinned and took it, her cool fingers were a balm on my soul, a deeper comfort than I had imagined I needed. With my other hand I pulled open the small door within the larger door into the sanctum.

Outside the sky was roiling, dark, the eternal twilight that we could only distantly see from within the temple. Beyond the grounds stood what was left of the castle town, just the skeletons of buildings after fire had swept through long ago and left only sparing beams and stone foundations behind. Those and the walking dead.


	2. Chapter 2

Rubble crunched under us as we slowly climbed through the remains of an old tavern. Everything made of wood except a few scant rafters and some of the floor had burned to ash ages ago, but the low stone wall and the stonework of its foundation remained intact giving us a safe path through to the other side of it. A low moan could be heard from the other side, then another and another, waves of them that slowly dissipated as the creatures making the moans forgot why they were making the noise. Thankfully my little one, I was still working up the courage to ask her what her name was, had gone a bit numb to the sound and the knowledge of what lay beyond.

What lay beyond the walls though wasn't the only thing we were hiding from, the sky itself had burned with the city and seemed to reflect the madness and flames of the day it died. Why he had made this effect so visible and so nearly permanent I suppose is beyond me. I could think of a few things, but I had better things to think about with my back against the stone, "Mommy, a-are we there yet?" I had told her it was a short trip to the outskirts of the city, to where the walking dead would follow no more. However I'd always been alone, always able to crash through at a sprint, dodging and rolling, cutting and 'killing' my way to the still verdant fields beyond the walls.

"I… uhm, I think we're close, ahh-I'm not sure though." I could deal with the monsters as they let out a chorus of moans once more and began shuffling closer. My little girl flinched and curled up a little, finally shutting down in the face of the monsters. My heart began hammering in my chest, "Oh, no, we'll be fine, honey, we'll be… Hey uhm, you know what's scaring me right now?" I tried to change the subject, swirling in my mind though were the many ways I could screw up the next sentence.

She uncurled a little and looked up at me, eyes shrouded in shadows drawn from her robe, "What?"

"I… I don't know your name and, I should know it, but, I barely remember you at all and I mean you're mine and I can't remember you?" I shook my head hard, how simply asking a name could be so utterly terrifying, more frightening than the living dead about to crash our break. "What kind of mom doesn't know their kid's name?"

She had uncurled completely and seemed focused. She grinned widely and suddenly, "Ruto. My name is Ruto," she nodded firmly.

My eyes were drawn up as I felt a cold chill begin to drive into my chest, I could only think to question myself, but as I did the memory of it surged forward, this was certainly her name. A bit of shame nestled into me, but was soon interrupted as the chill grew and I recognized it. I grabbed Ruto and vaulted the wall behind us, the shambling masked form of a redead had found the doorway and was lurching toward us, "Break's over!" I announced as I put her back on the ground and started running.

Ruto found her feet quickly and hurried after me, I slowed my pace to match hers. Keeping my eyes open and on the ground ahead as well as the larger path we needed to take was hard, I had to consider her size, among other relevant aspects of the situation.

All around us the dead started to turn our way, moans and screams escaped the slit of their mouth, but they remained too far away to harm us. For the moment. As we continued to run I guided us into a few alleyways slowing our pace until we could sneak once more. With stone walls and empty pit basements all around the stumbling shamble of the dead couldn't close enough and even as they continued to moan in waves of the terrible sound that continued throughout the city, they soon went quiet.

We edged close to a exit of a particularly narrow alley, the only sound on the wind was the wind itself and the echos of fire that came from the sky. The redeads, their quarry lost had returned to standing mutely waiting for prey. Ruto stood behind me panting quietly, "H-h-hah, how much farther?!" She asked a bit overly loud.

I shushed her, "We're nearly there I can see the walls," Indeed from my higher vantage point I could just see the battlements of the great southern gatehouse. What I didn't want to tell her was that that space had always been the most harrowing part of the run. It wasn't that the gatehouse was hard to leave from, or that one had to lower the bridge, it was the courtyard that sat in front of it, wide, open, with a nice fountain in the middle, but also crowded with the dead. Dozens of redead shuffled around there and while that would have left me plenty of space to maneuver, I knew what to do.

She smiled up at me, happy to hear solid progress, her smile faded when she heard me speak however, "One last big run. We're gonna sneak as close as we can, then, when I count to three, you're gonna run for the gate house, the big arched building and keep running even if I'm not right behind you. OK? I know this scary, but we have to, if we don't run, then the monsters will catch us." Ruto didn't need to be convinced that monsters were real, as anyone knew, monsters were real, terrifying and real. She nodded, the fear in her palpable.

I nodded back and pointed across the street, "First a few more building's though, quietly." I slipped across the road, my boots making barely a sound on the compacted dirt of the side street. Ruto was even quieter, a ghost in the eternal twilight. In watching her cloaked form slip silently over the stranded stones and across the dirt I felt a welling of pride, she was going to be a great thief one day. The thought made me stop, whose was that? It didn't have the same coat of familiarity, it felt a little more alien. I heard another's voice in that moment, a whispering I could hear but not make out. She tugged on my robes, breaking the spell of confusion. Instead of talking she pointed down the street.

I nodded along, we needed to keep moving.

Building after building we inched closer, hiding in the ruins until at long last the courtyard. Its fountain was long silenced, the cobbles remained in place, slightly rutted from carts going over them, but no more than the last time or the time before. The undead stood in our way, dozens milling slowly about, moaning their pain as they chose at seeming random a direction to shuffle and did so for a few steps before deciding on another. Time and time again I was able to see their eyes through the masks, what was left of them, mere pinpricks in deep black cavities. The malevolent red shown as the brightest and darkest light in the courtyard, but the so far had not laid them on us. "One." I whispered.

Ruto nodded and shook herself taking in a breath, "Two," I announced, joining the sound of my voice with that of steel being drawn out. I was not however drawing the great artifact, though it remained at my side, trusty, true. Instead I drew a scimitar. These creatures could take a blow from the great blade, three or four at times, their bodies were little hurt by the force the weapon had, the battering smashes it was particularly good at. I didn't know if this weakly at best enchanted sword would have the potency to cut them apart, if it could hurt them at all. What I did know was that I wouldn't be able to swing around the much heavier blade I had taken from the temple with the same speed.

"Three!" With my call I vaulted the wall and waited a half second for Ruto to respond and get over herself. I watched her run and felt a new terror rise up. I charged after her, keeping myself between her and the nearest undead. We used the wall of the gate house as a guide and a way to make it both easier and harder to be surrounded. Moans called out, the piercing cold of dread that the redead possessed lanced out, "Don't look at them!" I called out as I tore ahead, one of the creatures had stepped into our path.

The blade in my hand flashed as I swung it, catching what little light there was to catch. The first cut an arm off, the flesh and bone of the creature were beyond rotten, held together by foul magic. I almost smirked, almost chuckled, instead I steeled myself and continued my swing into the creature for a second time, this time the flash of steel came across at its neck. The beast continued forward, eyes burning with hate as it rolled away and its body landed on the ground. I didn't stop to admire my work, such as it was others were moving to intercept us.

In the lead I glanced back at little Ruto, who looked nothing like her namesake it must be said, she was managing to keep up and as I finished cutting apart another she slipped by and into the great archway. I knew that wouldn't be the end of it and hurried on, inside the stone arches were fewer of the creatures, but their eyes called for attention, their moans and screams demanded a look. It was there with only a few left blocking our way that she stopped and pitched forward.

I slid to a stop above her, sweeping my eyes around the space: to the north a dozen or so redead lurched toward us, moaning, their eyes sending chills down my spine. I swept my eyes south, only half a dozen blocked the way, but as I looked them over and tried to asses the situation more completely an arrow whizzed by my head and clattered only a few feet from my fallen child. I looked up to see the source, archers, long dead and raised as skeletons. At one point they likely were defenders of the city, but now they defended it in _his_ name rather than that of the King. The situation was looking just a little bleak as the noose of undead began to tighten.


	3. Chapter 3

I stood over her body, it was still as the dead, but holding an awkward position on the ground. I knew it would only be a matter of seconds before she would start moving again, but in the meantime I had to protect her from the encroachment of the undead. Another arrow landed near us, getting closer with each shot. I couldn't remove myself until Ruto recovered enough to start moving again, but standing there without protection would be my downfall. Moving quickly I swept aside my cloak and sheathed my weapon then simultaneously reached back to grab the large shield on the back of my pack and grab deku nuts from the large satchel on my belt.

It was a bit awkward, but I managed it, just in time to hide behind the wood backed metal as more arrows began to fall upon us. Each clank of metal on metal brought the ring of undead closer. I could feel the oppressive weight of their eyes grow with each second. I watched and smiled when Ruto began to loosen up, now was the time, "Cover your ears!" I yelled and slowly she complied, too scared to not listen to her mother, good.

I stood up, shield facing the archers, lifted my hand to the sky and felt the full force of the monsters' gaze upon me. They were all around us, almost bumping into each other trying to get to us and drain the life from our bodies. At least two dozen eyes stared at us with fiery hunger, a hunger that sent chills of dread into my soul. It was only my will and my fear of what would happen to Ruto that kept my hand in motion.

Two nuts hit the ground with a pair of deafening cracks sending every one of the undead around us reeling. I quickly pulled on Ruto to her feet, "Come on, run! Don't look back!" I ran interference, my ears ringing so loud I couldn't hear if she had responded. We charged forward and I used the shield to knock over one of the stunned undead around us. A gap formed and through it Ruto ran, scampering as fast as her legs could take her. I followed, arrows still raining down, stabbing into and 'injuring' the redead that ended up in the way, there was little doubt in my mind that they wouldn't much notice it later.

The sky cracked and let out a boom as it replayed the night the city fell, temporarily giving the space the light of day as I ran. Getting out of the cover the redead and wall had given us arrows came fast and plenty, tracking me poorly as I zigged and zagged. Thankfully they seemed focused on me rather than the much smaller, but more venerable target that Ruto posed. My larger size however caught up with me as I jumped to slide down the wrecked drawbridge.

Pain lanced up my leg, the arrow barely slowing as it sheared through clothes to enter the flesh of my thigh. It burned as I slid down and had to land and begin to climb the other side, I quickly realized that I couldn't power through the pain, but on the upside I could limp my way up the other side and additionally it seemed that the undead were already losing interest. Arrows still found places in the wood to embed, but fewer and fewer as I climbed up and pulled myself onto the road beyond. As I crested it I could see Ruto in the distance, hiding behind a low stone wall near another burnt out building, it was a good spot, the dead would be ill able to hit her there.

Lamely I stood and limped at the best pace I could manage away from the moat and with each step the sky shifted, with each step another archer lost interest until I was standing next to the wall with a moonlit sky above me. The pain in my leg was distant, foggy and I could almost walk normally even with the arrow sticking out of my thigh.

Ruto watched me from behind the wall, her eyes dancing between my face and the arrow and the bright red splotch forming on robe and the tights underneath. Her attention drew mine and I couldn't do more than stare for several seconds myself, "Mommy are… are alright?" She was looking up at me then and I nodded.

"Lets get away from the walls, I can tend to it then." It wasn't great that she was so young, I needed then someone to help carry the load I was holding onto the swords the pack. After a few limping steps I realized, she could hold the shield, "Hey, do you wanna help mommy?" She nodded eagerly, I could only imagine how hard her heart was pounding the 'thrill' of terror running through her. I pawed off my shield to her, "Here, hold onto this for me." I wandered, half in a daze as I came down from the rush of the situation, I could hear her follow, burdened by the shield until I stopped and slumped down against a mile stone.

Silently I gripped the shaft of the arrow and moved my hand to where it met my leg and then followed the path around my thigh, which I noted mentally seemed much larger than before. I put that thought away with the dozen or more other strange thoughts about my body the would be answered 'later'. As I rounded to the other side I winced, the arrow had passed almost all the way through only stopping when the feathers had caught on flesh and cloth.

I had to look at it and doing so put my heart to pounding. A blood covered tip, thankfully not a broad head stuck up out of my leg, the feathers at the back tangled with my cloak. I had to pull it through, but first I had to get the feathers off, I would need to disassemble it.

I reached around on my belt until I came across a small knife among the collected tools, fit for gutting and other tasks it was exactly what I needed right then to cut free the arrow. Using touch and time I cut the feathers from the shaft, they were decrepit things, old and rotting. I grimaced as I knew that the wound would fester, even with proper care recovery would take time. I cast away the feathers in frustration, "Close your eyes baby," I announced to Ruto, not sure where she was looking at the time.

Exhaling I gripped the shaft where it emerged from my leg, the surface was rough, dry wood, slightly slick with blood. I gripped it hard and pulled. There was a sound, a screaming yell that echoed in the outer town that didn't stop until the clatter of an arrow on cobbles. I gasped for breath, my throat raw and angry from the sudden abuse, "Ahh damn, damn." I felt a hand, then an arm around my neck, gentle and warm. The feeling made me smile and I leaned my head against hers, "Hey, I'll be fine."

Again I was forced to pry her off, though I did so gently as I told her why, "I have to clean this up, just keep watch, OK?" My eyes were adjusting to the relative gloom, but a full moon was close and bright as it watched us. I fetched from my pack an apothecary kit, something I had picked up from the castle town before I had pulled the sword. Inside were tools and bottles, but what I needed most were the bandages and the small containers of healing salves.

I took my time to clean out the wound on both sides, the tights on my legs had pulled away from the wound now that they had been damaged, another hole to patch later. With the material from the kit I filled the holes with salve then wrapped bandage linens around my leg. The work went slowly, I had never been great at the healing arts, as a child on this damned adventure I had depended on potions and apothecaries to fix me up after I had done whatever foolhardy thing I had done that time. Thankfully though I had seen the process enough to do a decent enough job of patching myself up, it would, if nothing else get me to Kariko so that I could see a proper healer.

It was then that I looked up and noticed that Ruto had vanished, I bolted up, grunting in discomfort at my freshly bandaged wound and called out, "Ruto!? Where are you?"

Almost before I had finished the call she called back, "Up here!" I looked and saw that she had climbed up a tree that was coming up through burned away floorboards.

I blinked and chuckled, "Oh, there you are, you're a climby little one aren't you." I exhaled and held my leg, "Alright, see any fires or places we can hide for the night?"

At my command she looked around, her golden eyes glimmering in the dark. She continued to look until suddenly she pointed, "There! I see a fire!" I nodded, a fire meant people, or something to run from, but I assumed the former, since she hadn't sounded worried.

"Alright, get down then, gotta pack up so we can get over there," I took note of the direction she had pointed, going so far as to point the bloody arrow that way to serve as a notice in case I forgot while packing. Behind me I heard the tree rustle as she found her way down. She let out a little 'oof' as she dropped the last few feet to the ground.

Brushing off she hurried back to me and stood by, "What can I hold?" She asked with a smile, I responded by holding up the bed roll from the pack. She took it in her arms as I took the weight of the rest of the pack on my back. It felt heavier though I knew it was lighter than before. Looking around the ground I double checked that I had picked everything back up. My knife was back in its sheath, both swords in place on my hip, packs and satchels closed. We were ready and so with a check of the arrow we started off into the dark guided only by the moon and the knowledge that somewhere 'that way' was a small fire and around it, probably people.


	4. Chapter 4

Our steps crunched in the undergrowth, dry and eternally so as all plants seemed to live short painful lives in close to the city. I recalled as a child coming here and seeing even well into the evening people hustling from building to building, the sound of carousing that would go on far past when I went to sleep. To see it dead, as it was, with parts burnt to the ground and others standing in mockery of their former glory was unsettling, it had been each of the other two times I had left the city, though none had me leaving in the pitch black of night.

Ahead the light of a fire kept me on track as we walked across the ruins of some small field of grain or vegetables, I wouldn't know which, I was never required to farm; the Great Tree provided all. My foot fell upon a particularly large bit of undergrowth and it let out a loud snap, its suddenness eliciting a squeak from my companion, from my Ruto. I slowed and looked back at her, the bundle of bed roll held in her arms, "It'll be fine, it's good that we're not sneaking up on them." The relative quiet of the walk had been unsettling for me as well, but at her nodding I smiled.

"Who's there! Show ya'self!" A raspy voice called out into the dark. A torch rose above the fire as we stepped past a bank of tall grass, "Oy! Stop right there," he thrust the torch in our direction, drawing a rusty, but sharp sword from its sheath at his side.

I lowered my hood and gave him a smile, "We're friends," I felt Ruto latched onto the back of my cloak, her head visible around my side as I looked back for her. The fire moved suddenly and I returned my attention to the man with the torch.

"Oh yeah, well, who's that? And who are you?!" He demanded as he looked us over, I could see in his eyes that he was coming to a conclusion.

"I'm Link, this is my daughter Ruto, we're just trying to get to Kakariko Village and we-", I was then cut off by him loudly butting in.

"Just tryin' to put me at ease so you can swipe all our stuff, I know about your kind," he spat at my feet, "not enough ya' took the city, ya gotta be takin' over the towns too? Well I ain't sharin' my fire with no thieves, you can take you and that rat o' yours and piss off." I held my tongue as the man ranted, waving his sword to and fro as he did. I considered his form, he didn't have any; then I considered his apparent strength, not much to speak of, I figured I could take him, but that doing so might risk Ruto's well being.

I reached back and put my hand on her head as she gripped me ever tighter, "Very well." Being rejected so soundly had never happened to me before, I was the Hero of Time, my tunic and sword were often enough to get me into nearly everywhere. I frowned at him, unsure how I should get away, I couldn't turn my back, that could expose me, I couldn't back up with Ruto so firmly attached to my leg.

As pressing as the dilemma was this man wasn't waiting, he pressed forward nearly shoving the flame from his torch into my face, "I said get! You're lucky I don't run ya through ya damned thieves!" I reeled at the intrusion and stumbled as I backed into my daughter. Catching myself by widening my stance I quickly put my hand on the leather wrapped hilt of my scimitar, "Oh, I see, ya murderers too!" All his yelling seemed to be rousing his companion who rolled over and moaned in the background.

I slid my forward foot back and slowly moved my hand from grip to pommel, never taking my gaze off the man before me. As I stood to full I could look down at him slightly, "Neither, but I can tell when I'm not wanted." I bowed my head took a backstep, slowly at first so that Ruto could keep up as we began our retreat from the man's fire, "May the goddesses see you safely through the night." I said as I turned the two of us away from him. All the while he watched, wringing his hand on the grip of his sword. As we left the fire behind I heard the sound of a sheath, but as we kept going I made sure that our retreat was well documented with noise.

With the fire receding into the distance I realized something important, that little Ruto was being inordinately quiet. Nothing I could remember or feel made me think that she was a chatterbox, but this level of silence was unusual in my experience so far. With that in mind I glanced back at her, to confirm that she was there, she was, "You alright? You're being awfully quiet." I could hear my voice going into a different tenor, higher, sweeter.

She snapped to and put on a grin that was barely visible in the dark, "Yeah Mom, I'm fine!" She chirped flatly. The lie in it was obvious and blunt, I could hear how unsettled she'd become by the encounter. I slowed to a crawl and then stopped, still looking at her, "I mean it, I'm fine!" she insisted.

I shook my head, "I heard you the first time, but we have to stop somewhere," I looked up at the sky, the moon had risen slightly more since the last time I had look. This told me that there was more night to come than had passed and further told me that we had to find somewhere to bed down. I looked around trying to find a farmhouse a barn, a standing building of any kind. The dim light of the moon revealed in its own time a house, it looked to be only partly destroyed, it would be safe enough to get rest in.

Pointing I looked down at her, "See, there, that's where we're going to sleep tonight. Tomorrow will be better, no monsters, just you, me and the road."

She shifted the weight of the bed roll in her arms, "Will I have to carry this all day?"

I smiled and rubbed her head, "No, of course not, only as long as we're walking," I chuckled at my own joke and in response to the aggravated huff that Ruto gave in response. With that though, we turned to our destination and walked.

Author's note: Hello to those that have gotten this far, first a Thank You, I hope you've enjoyed so far. Second I am always looking for C&C, so if you have comments or criticisms please don't be afraid to throw me a PM. I promise I don't bite. Here's hoping to get back into the swing of things.

~Lorventus


	5. Interlude 1

She approached the castle, its grounds guarded by illusions and undead standing in rank, hundreds, maybe thousands of them unmoving, unflinching. As she reached the gate a massive armored creature, as such a being could only be called stepped forward and regarded her wordlessly. Its frame larger than any man, wearing armor no man could, she didn't know what was beneath and in all her years serving her King she didn't want to know what it was that he had created.

"I need to pass, King Ganon is expecting me," she announced to it. It stared impassively, the blackened metal of its helm betraying no emotion until it suddenly and with heavy steps stood aside. Huffing the red haired spy walked quickly down the path, there was still a great deal of distance to cover, these grounds had been the site of the old king's last stand. She remembered it, her mother had brought her to observe their King's victory.

His army, raised from the dead of Hyrule, from their cemeteries and from the towns he had conquered on his way marched in lockstep. Their thundering steps had scared her, the smell had disgusted her, but the old Gerudo had insisted, "You will watch this, you will know what our King is capable of." Atop his destrier, armored and ready, their sorcerer king guided the undead and led them in their march upon the Hyrulian King.

The blood of the knights and guards still seemed wet on the stones of the cobble path just as the horizon behind her seemed to still burn with the sacking of the town around the castle. Even her new footsteps failed to leave lasting impact, the stone deprived of blood drew it back to it, maintaining the madness and chaos of the king's rout.

Finally she arrived at the open gate, its facade torn down and every statue of a former king or the Goddesses roundly destroyed. It was there that she first saw another sister, milling about the massive foyer were sever dozen like her. Some with less purpose than her, a few sparing with each other. The elder of the group came up beside her, "Russa, it's good to see you, what news have you?"

Russa shrugged, "That I am allowed to tell you? Nothing new, the city still burns and the countryside remains barren. I'm sure you'll know before I when we ship out to truly begin to take this country over."

The elderly Gerudo, her hair beginning to grey sighed in response but kept walking beside her, "Then you're here because he's back. Will he finally send us to kill that so called hero?"

Russa stopped, "Marso, you know the king would have my head if he caught me blabbing about that so cut it out," she glared at the elder and nodded back to the group. "Leave me to my task and I'll leave you to yours, alright?" Letting out an annoyed sigh she hurried on her way leaving Marso to watch her leave with a smirk.

The carpets and tapestries of the hall had been switched out to favor the new occupant's preferences, portraits of King Ganon looking regal, his long nose, bejeweled headdress and cruel eyes. She had never liked them, they made her feel like he was always watching and listening and given his potency in the arcane arts she had little doubt that they could.

The next set of doors were guarded by more of Ganon's armored underlings. They stepped out of the way to let her push the door open, its massive bulk slow to yield to her pressure, but stubbornly she continued, knowing that it would yield eventually. It of course did, creaking as it opened wide enough for her to slip in. As she did and with her cloak barely past the gap it swung closed, she presumed closed by the guards outside.

Inside was a great hall, massive on a scope that she hardly considered possible or reasonable, its arched ceiling was dozens of feet up and was wider than any room she had ever seen. It was lit with torches or cold fire around the perimeter, but the light inside the center was an unholy light, bright as the sun, but with none of its warmth. It lit a vast laboratory where more of her sisters worked night and day, or as the sky told, evening eternal. They moved between tables with bodies upon them, draining fluids into great vats. The laboratory, though visible from the great ring above it that she now stood upon, was guarded at last by something less tangible.

Around it, feeding it vast quantities of magic were six great seals. She had never bothered to look at them all that closely, except for the one that was on the temple within the desert they called home. To access the lab she was forced to descend to its level and approach yet another gate, there stood a sister, Ferrah. She was a practitioner of the dark and until recently, forbidden arts. "Ahh, Russa, it is so good to see you, the King will see you shortly, be a good girl and wait in the library."

Russa hated Ferrah, the later had been a weak child, unable to swing a sword, too uncoordinated to stick a knife in the right spots. Clumsy, oafish and to top it all off she was ugly, but what she lacked in those qualities she made up with position and savvy. She was among Ganon's favored sisters, she held the keys to seeing him or not seeing him. "Thank you dear sister, I will do just that." She smiled at Ferrah and bowed her head before stepping through the gate. That was a trick in of its self, Ferrah controlled it, she could make the gate solid as stone in heartbeat. Russa had seen her once slice an impetuous sister in half with its magic once and vowed from then on to be polite as possible to avoid a similar fate.

Within the confines of the great shield the lab stunk. The sorceresses within wore beaked masks as they worked the bodies. Raiding parties brought them in and the armor they would wear after, their own smiths were simply too few to provide what they army needed and so much of the armor that the undead wore and the weapons they wielded were stolen or came with the bodies themselves. Corpses sat on the tables being stitched up, drained of fluids and infused with magic to halt their decay. It was a vile practice that Russa was glad she wasn't a part of.

The 'library' was a simple open topped room formed by a congregation of bookshelves. Each book was practical, something her lord had no doubt read and more than once, spell books, works on war and more. She couldn't read them herself, but that was of little consequence, her job didn't require her to read, it required her to observe and to be able to read and write her own language. Hylian texts weren't of import to her, but it seemed they were of her King.  
That very king took his time in coming, no doubt Russa thought a result of Ferrah's neglecting to inform him of her arrival. When he did enter he was commanding, tall, thin, regal, but still with cruel eyes. His great cape fluttered behind him as he strode in, "Russa, my faithful little spy, to what do I owe this visit," he asked with a false sort of pleasure in his voice.

"As you know my Liege," she hated the word king, the way it sounded when she had to say it in Hylian when she said it, "I am bound to observing those that enter or leave the city. I have seen someone leave this day, two actually, a woman and a child. I wasn't able to see who they were but they left the temple."  
His eyes narrowed and he stepped closer, "Left the temple? Did you see them enter, did you make sure that they didn't access the sanctum?" Anger and threat edged every word as he spoke it.

"No, but I was watching, I would have seen them enter, I would have known if a mother and child braved the city like that just to enter the temple." She rebutted carefully, she had to assure him that she was competent or else something terrible could happen to her.

He stepped closer still, "Then how did they leave? There is only one person, one man that has ever left the temple without also entering it soon before and it does not sound like you are telling me of his return."

She nodded, her body tensing with Ganon's closeness, he was nearly a head taller than her and though he was not much stronger he had magic power that none could rival. "I cannot say, but I checked the sanctum," he grew angry at that, eyes flaring with fury, "I saw that the door was open, but the gate was closed."

His fury lessened, but a cruel grin spread across his face, "You must have missed him by following those two useless people, a diversion, I didn't know he had it in him. As if using a woman and a child to hide his escape would confuse _my_ sentries."

"Exactly my liege," she had no idea what he was talking about.

"I want you to notify network that there is work to do. The warrior in green has returned, if they get the chance, kill him. I refuse to give him the chance to stop us, this country, this world belongs to me." He finished with a grin, cruel and wide, before turning and leaving the room. Russa gulped as he left the confines and began making a speech outside. She could hear him only somewhat the words garbled by the arrangement of shelves.

She didn't care though, tuning him out until he was done, his words had gotten to her, had the warrior in green really evaded her eye? How had those two gotten into the city and to the Temple and why? These questions demanded answers, but she had little choice but to return to her post after sending the message out. Letting out a final sigh she made to leave, to do her duty, to see this madness to its end. Mother would be proud of her, so very proud.


	6. Chapter 5

The first rays of morning broke through the shutterless windows of the house we had taken refuge in. Thankfully the long tilled soil held back the restless dead, or perhaps those memories were nightmares, with so much time passed, forward and back reality blurred sometimes. I woke slowly, eyes opening first as I remained seated, back against the stone foundation.

Tightening my grip on the artifact sword I pushed myself slowly up to a stand. On the ground next to where I had been sitting, bundled in blanket and laying on bedroll Ruto squirmed in my absence. I smiled down at her, seeing her put a warmth in me that nothing else in my life had, it was a strange feeling, totally alien and yet so very familiar as most things were with her. There wasn't time to dwell on her though, I had to begin the morning.

Yawning, I left the dilapidated house to tend to morning business before I got down to the work of practice. After business but before the work I sat on the porch of the house and tended the wound I had earned the night before. I removed the red stained bandage and peered through the new hole in my pants, the flesh beneath it was stained red as well, possibly from the potion, possibly inflamed. I couldn't tell yet, I'd need to clean the wound before I would be able to tell for sure.

The bandage would be left behind, it was too dirty to be safe, or so the old apothecary had told me when she taught me to use them. The hole in my pants would have to wait until a town or a proper inn to be repaired. I took another look at the wound and smiled, at least, I thought, it had been my leg and not hers. Again warmed by Ruto I stood back up and reached into the building, fetching my shield, the heavy steel plated shield the shopkeep had called a 'Hylian Shield'. The only thing Hylian about it was the crest, the rest seemed rather mundane to me, metal and wood, it had served as my first line of defense through my first climb up Death Mountain, when I could still hide under it. I chuckled quietly as I slipped into the welcoming embrace of the shield's straps.

From my hip I drew the blade, its length shining even in the dim predawn light. The grip was intensely familiar, just as it had been when I drew it from the pedestal, weighted toward the tip it swung with a battering brutality. As I gave it a few more test swings I started to get my balance with it back, moving with the blade instead of fighting it for control. Finally I arrived at the tree and took a ready stance, shield forward, the artifact in me left hand, ungloved for this practice session.

I practiced my footwork, keeping the tree exactly the right distance away as I circled around it, once I was satisfied I started through my swings. I let the tree and my arm absorb the shock of impact, I needed to be able to keep hold of the weapon regardless of how hard I hit something or was hit by something.

Each slash of the blade rung my body, the hit reverberating through my arm. After about ten minutes I stopped, turned around and leaned up against the tree. The morning air was cool, with a gentle breeze coming in from the south, as I slid down the tree, massive gouges in its trunk came loose and fell to the ground around me. I planted the blade point first into the ground and looked past its wide face, noticing then Ruto watching me from the house.

I waved to her from my spot on the ground and she waved back after a moment. Something about this felt wrong and I mustered the energy to stand up, sheath the sword and approach her, "Morning!" I called out, my breath still not quite there, she appeared to mumble something back and so I continued, "Sleep well?" She responded by shaking her head tentatively, then deciding apparently to nod her head, putting on a false smile, "Wanna talk about it?" To that she lost the smile, her eyes grew wide and she shook her head hard.

I nodded, I could guess what had disturbed her sleep, it was what had disturbed mine many times since leaving the Kokiri Forest. "OK," I replied with some concern.

"I'm hungry," she said quietly, her statement reminded me that I was starving, my stomach let out a loud growl and she wrinkled her nose at me, "Gross!"

Her feigned disgust made me laugh a bit, "Well so am I, Goddesses know when I ate last," I sighed and smiled, "let's see what I packed for us." Entering the house I descended upon my pack and dug around in it just a little, the food was packed away in a cloth bag, much like the rupee bag that hung from my belt. Inside though was a great deal of trail food, but not nearly as much as I had hoped. It seems that I had been expecting to have time to hunt down some animal to add to the meal, for now though what was there was more than enough to get us to Kakoriko.

Before I could bring it out to her I noticed that Ruto had snuck up and was watching quietly over my shoulder. I pretended for a moment to not notice her before turning suddenly and tickling her with both hands, "You little sneak! Couldn't wait could you." She giggled and laughed and flailed as she fell to the floor under my gentle assault.

"Mommy please!" She called out between strings of laughter and at that I stopped, leaning back to sit on my feet as I looked at her smiling.

"I have breakfast," I pulled out the food bag and broke off some chunks from the hard biscuit, "It's uhm, it's not great but it'll fill you up." I held on piece out to her, it was dense, dry and not especially tasty, but it would be filling once paired with the dried fruits I had brought as well. She sat up and took what I gave her, eating some of the fruit between attempts to chew the hard biscuit.

As we sat and ate she spoke up to ask, "Where are we going?"

I chewed on my response, I hadn't given that a whole lot of thought, escape back into the relative safety of the Hyrulian plains had been most of my plans for the time being, with an idea that Kakoriko would be the destination afterward. Ruto's existence, her appearance had broken every plan I might have had and reshaped them into a single all consuming idea that of getting safely out of the castle town and to somewhere safe. Swallowing any pride I had about being self reliant, I made a snap decision, "We're gonna see if we can see a friend of mine." I smiled at my little one, "She should know what to do," I continued, taking on a hopeful tone. In truth I didn't exactly know how to contact Shiek, she had always just appeared out of nowhere and returned there, I was only half sure she even existed except that the spell songs she had taught me, worked.

"Your friend?"

"My friend, Shiek, she's smart and quick, heh, makes me look like kindof a clumsy oaf," I chuckled, if she'd been the chosen one I had little doubt she'd have been able to bypass at least half of the locked doors and little 'puzzles' that locked the Forest Temple's ritual room away.

Ruto was smiling at me when I stopped feeling sorry for myself and looked at her. She grabbed my arm and grinned wide, "No way! You're super fast and strong!" Her voice was supremely confident and her smile soon became infectious as I smiled back and rubbed her head. She didn't know my 'destiny', that I was 'chosen' to be some great warrior some defender of the realm. That responsibility had been weighing on me since the beginning, since Zelda had told me her visions and all the other things people kept telling me. It was great to have someone else, even if it was my own daughter saying it, saying that they thought I was capable.

She smiled back at me then took another big bite of her chunk of biscuit.

The rest of our meal was had mostly in silence, water helped the dry food go down and the total of the meal left me feeling pleasantly full. I patted my belly and let out another sigh as I noticed the sun had risen up in the sky, peaking in places above the treetops, "We have to go." Ruto moaned in protest as I gave her a stern look, "Come on, there's better food to be had in Kakoriko, we'll see my friend, everything will be better." She let out another groan and started getting ready. I did too and soon I had our packs ready, somehow in the chaos of the night before I hadn't noticed that Ruto had a pack of her own, though it only contained a spare set of clothes for her, bedding and some water.

Nearly two days of walking later, with complaining coming quick and often from my short legged companion we made it to the foothills that would lead to the Kakoriko. It was at the crest of a hill that I stopped and took a long look into the distance. Up the mountain I could see the pass we would be using, but below it was what drew my attention most, a town had sprung up and fortifications surrounded it entirely. It was mid afternoon and at the pace we were making it'd been almost sundown before we reached it, but still I couldn't help but stare at the town that was there, "That's strange."

I felt a tugging at my tunic, "What's strange?" She asked with genuine curiosity.

"Huh? Oh," I pointed out to the town, "well that wasn't there before, the town used to be up in the valley. I wonder why it's down here now," I paused and put one hand on my chin stroking my it for a few moments, "Well, maybe Kakoriko got big?" I asked no one in particular. As I looked around it became suddenly apparent to me that we had not encountered anyone on the road, that for the last night and day we hadn't seen anyone, perhaps the road to the castle town wasn't popular, that of course would make a lot of sense given what Ganon had done to the castle town.

I felt tugging at my tunic and looked down nodding, "Right, well let's find out what's going on together, huh?" I smiled at Ruto and she smiled back at me, ragged from the journey we continued it, knowing that our destination was soon at hand.


	7. Chapter 6

Kakariko hadn't reached this far down the mountain when last I had visited about seven years back. Obviously when I was a child there were little farms down this far, some ranches and such, but nothing to the scale that I now had before me. Before _us,_ I felt it necessary to remind myself.

The farms now reached deep into where the forest once ranged and even where the forest still stood it had been thinned out significantly. The town as I could see it seemed to have a wall put a wooden wall at the mouth of the mountain pass that led up to the Goron city and what I guess would be called 'Old Kakario'. I could see that the town had become a city, smoke rose in columns from one district as people worked at their trades of fire, the others had only sparing stacks. Winter wasn't yet here, but the shortness of the day said it would be soon.

It took an hour or more, for the two of us to go from the edge of the forest to the outer edge of the city, where farm gave way to inns and smithies. It was there that I noticed the looks we were getting, each person we passed _watched_ us. We turned heads, but their eyes and bodies were not open. It didn't take long for Ruto to notice this and to move closer, I put my hand on her shoulder and quietly told her, "Don't worry, we'll be fine." I had no way of knowing how right or wrong I was, except that most of the people weren't carrying swords and none carried a shield like the one now displayed openly on the back of my pack.

That shield, I hoped would tell the story well enough, to say that I was not an enemy, that we weren't with _his_ army. But as I kept glancing back, the fear that the low-hylians had of me becoming infectious, eventually I noticed that a few men had broken from whatever they were doing and were now following us. This was not how I remembered the people of Kakario, the last time I had visited though, the town was still so small, its walls were inside the pass, but no gate stood to hold back army or enemy.

The people back then had been nice, welcoming even, but they had also been far too busy to notice a young man wandering around. I had been beneath notice in my last visit, but this time, followed by a growing mob, clad in desert robes, I was the furthest thing from beneath notice. In that, I was no stranger to being followed, I was used to it in some ways, Shiek had followed me around when I had arrived the first time. She had helped me, but I had felt her eyes on me every moment that I spent outside the Forest Temple. This however was much different, she had felt and seemed nice, friendly or at worst indifferent, these men felt angry and dangerous. Worried, but aware that Ruto was in more danger than I was, I had to do something. I noticed that we were coming up on stew house, just the thing to settle her down, food away from too many prying eyes.

We kept walking down the cobbled road until we arrived then I stopped and smiled at the building for a moment then looked down at my little one, "Hey, wanna get something to eat?" She smiled back up at me, for a moment forgetting the looks we were getting and nodded vigorously.I pushed her onward toward the stew house and she trotted off toward the door. As she opened the door I turned to face the crowd that had begun following us. "Well?" I asked loudly at them, there were more than a dozen, some had wooden pitchforks, others brandished cludgels.

"Well?" I asked again at them, "You've followed us this far, what did we do to deserve this?" My heart was pounding in my chest, I had to keep my hands away from this hilt of my sabre, away from the purple leather of the artifact.

For a few moments they were quiet, but slowly they seemed to coalesce around one man. The pushed him to the forefront. He was big, with broad shoulders a square jaw and powerful arms. Of the assembled masses he had the only _real_ weapon, which he held in one hand, a flanged mace. He set himself, faltering at first, "I… we, you ain't wanted here." He took a moment to consider then spat at the ground between us.

I stared at him, eyeing him up. He had no armor, only a heavy leather apron, scorched and burnt. If I decided to I knew I could kill him without him laying so much as a hand on me. I couldn't do that though, I couldn't just murder him for no reason so I frowned at him, "Not wanted here? Wh-when did Kakario stop being welcoming?"

The crowd murmured, but it quickly shifted and the sound rose. Their appointed leader pointed his mace at me, "Thievies ain't welcome here, you're a Gerudo, that means you're a thief, so you ain't welcome!" He took a step forward, spitting out the words. He was quickly becoming angry, not that he hadn't been already, the entire crowd was angry and as they stood and began getting slowly louder, the townspeople not already involved began to take notice.

Against a dozen I could have maybe survived, but as the crowd began to swell and began to surround me, the numbers were becoming more and more against me. It was then that someone emerged from the stew house dragging Ruto kicking and screaming. My heart fell into my stomach and before I had thought more of it I had drawn my sword and was halfway to the man, "You let her go right now!" I shouted.

The villager recoiled from the blade and let go of Ruto's cloak. She quickly picked herself up and rushed to me. She clutched my robes as I held the sabre out, pointing it around at the people that had assembled, "We're just here to-" my voice was drowned out by a loud call of 'Kill the Thief!' I realized a tightness in my chest as they haltingly surged forward.

I couldn't dodge and weave to avoid being struck by _that_ many angry hands, but by the Grace of the Goddesses it wasn't necessary. A whistle sounded out that managed to stop the crowd from coming down on me. From both sides, wearing yellow painted plate, soldiers pushed their way toward us. From the city side one soldier came who had no helmet, he whistled again, "Break it up! What have you _peasants_ been told about this sorta thing! There's to be _no_ lynching in my town, now move along."

I was relieved to hear that he was here to help, to stop the scene from ending in murder, "Ahh, thank you so much, I don't know what I did, I'm no thief."

The man pointed to me and announced, "Take them to the stockades."

I recoiled from him, shocked at what he had said, "Wait, what? The stockades?!" I had a working knowledge of them, that they were where criminals went. We weren't criminals though.

He looked down at my bare steel then looked into my eyes, "Best sheath that sword now, Theif. I'd hate for one of my boys to have to run you through before you even got to see the Regent." He pointed again at me as his men started getting closer. "Might be easier if you just dropped it."

I stared incredulously at him, but as the ring of spears tightened I let go of the blade and let out a defeated sigh as I sheathed my blade slowly. Ruto squeaked in fear at the spears as they came within striking distance, "Please, we'll go along quietly, just stop pointing those at us, you're scaring my daughter." A few of the soldiers took that moment to lift their spears from us and the remaining looked back at their commander who gave a dismissive wave as he walked the perimeter trying to shoo the peasants back to their work.

Slowly they dispersed as the soldiers closed their circle around me, as they did I undid my sword belt and held it out to the man with the most ornate helmet of the faceless armored soldiers, "Here, take care of this, it's important." He took it and though I had no idea whether he thought it was as important as I knew it to be I had to hope that he would take me seriously.

Silently two of the soldiers took my gear, bow, quiver, backpack and everything attached. When finally they stepped back I was left with my tunic she in the outfit she had appeared in but with her little pack still on her back. It seemed a bit curious, but I didn't have the time to think about it as one reached out and yanked my hat off, which allowed my hair to flow freely. I had seen the red curls already, but now they sat at the edge of my vision, bouncing around with every step in a way that was difficult to ignore. Thankfully the soldiers were not carrying manacles, and so we did not suffer that indignity as they began marching us toward the city wall.

The walk remained unpleasant as we marched down the road to the city center. The soldiers walked in a loose formation, too loose to block us from being berated as we passed through. As we neared the gates I noticed something sailing through the air at me. However, I noticed it too late to actually avoid being struck and was only able to raise my right arm to block it from hitting my head. I cried out as it bounced off my arm and I felt something break in my shield arm. I cried out as I instinctively grabbed where I had been hit. The bone didn't move around in my grip, my kit had solutions for this sort of injury, but it was with the guards that were marching me to the stockades.

Ruto let out a gasp after my cry and looked up at me with absolute terror in her eyes, I smiled at her in response, but before I could say anything I felt the shaft of a guard's spear on my back. "Keep going," he said with contempt.

Unable to stop and compose myself I nodded and nodded my head forward, "Lets keep going hun," the pain of my injury began to fade a little as the march continued. Soon we passed through a great wooden gatehouse into the walled in town at the mouth of the pass. Here the commotion began to calm down and the guards around us thinned as most returned to their posts. Only the leader, the guard carrying my equipment and two ready to pierce me if I made a break for it remained. All that became rather beside the point as I started to hear sniffles coming from Ruto.

I grimaced and shot a glare back at the two men behind me, their helmets betraying no emotion as they continued to track my every movement.

The remainder of the walk was silent between us all except the quiet crying of my child. Every step felt like fresh indignity as I couldn't stop to comfort her, but finally we arrived at the stockade. True to its name, it was an outdoor pen with a few crossbowmen standing around. Inside several tough looking men sat in the far corner looking bored, outside the door is where the leader of the guards stopped. He turned to us and smiled, "Such compliant little thieves, I'll be sure to inform the Regent of your cooperation, perhaps he can think of a less painful way to die than simple hanging!" He let out a laugh that was joined by a few of the other guards until he let it die off.

I stared intently at him, "I would like some time to dress my arm before you lock us up," I held up my arm which was now bloody and bruised where the rock had stuck it.

The Guard Captain shook his head, "Why? You'll just be hanged in the morning after the Regent sees you." He pointed to the men behind me then at the door. The implication was simple, but what happened next I had not expected. He strode up and took Ruto by the arm, "In the mean time, to assure your… good behavior, this whelp can stay in the keep." His smile was cruel as the men behind me shoved the shafts of their spears in the small of my back. At the door the guard there opened it and waited as I was shoved in before closing it.

Stumbling to a stop I held my injured arm to my chest and turned back to the wall watching as the Captain dragged my daughter off, "Mommy help!" She cried out as she struggled against him. Now it made sense to me why her equipment had not been taken, they had never intended to keep us together.

I approached the wall called back to her as she was dragged further, "Go with the man, I'll get you in the morning! Be a good girl for them!" She was not satisfied by my request and responded by wailing and flailing, to little real effect. I stepped back from the bars of the stockade as a guard approached, "Yes, yes I get it." I turned away and looked onto the men I would be spending the remainder of the evening with. As the sky began to darken above us I then wished I had bothered to learn how to conceal knives.

Author's note: I yet live.


End file.
